Andre and a mosaic dolphin, Victoria Harbour
I had never considered how vast the province of British Columbia actually is, until we started planning this trip. According to a map I looked at, the entire state of California, half of Nevada, and one third of Oregon will fit into it. There is only one USA state that is larger… Alaska. All we had was a week, though, so we drove to Vancouver, then ferried to Vancouver Island and journeyed down the east coast to Victoria.
Our itinerary through British Columbia, Canada
The drive through eastern Washington was green, scenic and mountainous, so different from the plains of the Yakima Valley. Crossing the border was effortless and soon we were in Burnaby, a city east of Vancouver. It had been a mere suburb when Andre visited 45 years ago. Now it’s the third largest city in British Columbia. In spite of this, there is a campground here that offers convenient transportation into Vancouver. It was a pleasant walk from Cariboo RV Park to the AirTrain terminal. In 30 minutes we were at Vancouver’s waterfront. We headed for trendy Victorian Gastown and stopped at the iconic Steam Clock, one of the few that is still powered by a steam engine. Arriving just before noon, we stayed to watch the steam display, along with about 100 other tourists. Then we feasted on freshly caught salmon at a nearby pub. The seafood in this area is one of it’s biggest attractions! Our self guided walking tour took in Chinatown and the Dr.Sun Yat-Sen Garden. We continued on to the Vancouver Lookout for some panoramic views of the city. There are many more skyscrapers than we would have liked but Vancouver Harbour is still picturesque.
View of Canada Place Cruise Ship Terminal from Vancouver Lookout
Walking through the city center, we found Hornby Street, where Andre had lived for a couple of months before taking up permanent residence in San Francisco. The streets were animated with music and street artists around the Art Museum and Robson Square.
The Vancouver Art Museum and comfortable benches in Robson Square
A street artist’s chalk drawing of the Mona Lisa, Robson Square
Our visit to Stanley Park, the largest public park in Vancouver, was a full day event. It’s outside the city center so we took the bus, then walked around this amazing 1,000 acre urban oasis, with stunning views from the seawall, myriad hiking trails, beaches and totem poles. It was overcast but it didn’t rain until we returned to the city for a dinner date with Edouard, one of Andre’s long lost friends from the Basque Country. They hadn’t seen each other for 56 years, so it was another evening of reliving the old days and catching up…
Sea Wall and Coal Harbour, Stanley Park
Andre and his friend Edouard, Vancouver, BC, Canada
It was raining when we headed to North Vancouver, but we stopped anyway at English Bay Beach to see some interesting sculptures. We drove through Stanley Park to revisit the magnificent trees there and to see the beaches that we hadn’t had time to admire the previous day. We eventually made our way to the ferry terminal in West Vancouver and sailed to the port of Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. Then we went inland to Englishman River Falls Provincial Park, where we camped in a lush forest of Douglas fir, cedar, hemlock and maple trees. The following day we hiked to the two falls that cascade into a deep canyon… a welcome change from the urban scene.
The sun had come out and we began having hot weather as we traveled down the coast, stopping to visit the murals in the town of Chemainus. This picturesque seaside community has 39 outdoor murals, depicting its culture and logging history. Incidentally, the ice cream here is delicious! The next morning we were off for Cowichan Bay, a scenic fishing village where shops, run by local artisans and craftspeople are perched on stilts along the waterfront. There are many restaurants that feature organic food and sustainably caught seafood. After an amazing cod wrap, we were on our way to Victoria.
I had visited Victoria in 1962, when it had a decidedly British feel to it, from high tea at the Empress Hotel to the Union Jack, hanging in front of every souvenir shop. Today it is a vibrant, colorful and multicultural city. We checked out the Royal BC Museum, a must-see. The Natural History and First People’s Galleries were fascinating. It’s a very walkable city and we had warm sunny weather to enjoy it. We had picked up a map for a walking tour of Chinatown and did this at dusk, when the alleys looked a bit spooky!
Nighttime view of an alley in Chinatown, Victoria, BC, Canada
Finally, it was time to board the ferry back to the USA. We disembarked at Port Angeles, Washington and received a less than warm welcome from American Immigration… so different from the friendly smiling Canadians we’d seen throughout our visit. Hmmmm…